


Faust Had Nothing on Me

by mothlights



Category: Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Alternate Universe, Book: New Moon, Drabble Collection, F/F, F/M, Faustian Bargain, Friendship, Gen, Italy, Multi, Multi-Era, Multiple Pairings, Multiple Universe, POV First Person, Secretaries, Sexual Content, Vampires, Volturi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-05
Updated: 2011-04-05
Packaged: 2017-10-17 15:12:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/178171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mothlights/pseuds/mothlights
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gianna's job doesn't come with health or dental, but she never has to fetch coffee for the boss, and if she can stay alive long enough to swing a promotion, she'll be set for eternal life.</p>
<p>25 standalone drabbles of 100 words each for The Twilight 25, round 4. All from the pov of the Volturi's human secretary in <em>New Moon</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	Faust Had Nothing on Me

**Author's Note:**

> **All are from Gianna's pov, but the rules specify that they must not connect to tell one story; each is a standalone piece.**
> 
> The Twilight Twenty-Five: http://thetwilight25.livejournal.com  
>  Photo for prompts can be found here: http://community.livejournal.com/thetwilight25/16325.html  
>  The original posting for these drabbles with complete prompt headings is on FFn.
> 
> Thanks to QUEENOFGREY for organizing TT25. Thanks to ALBY MANGROVES for the pre-read on drabbles 18 – 25.  
>  All the usual characters, settings, etc. are the property of S. Meyer and Little, Brown and Company. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. Original plot, copyright 2011, mothlights. May not be reprinted or reposted without express written permission.

Prompt: Trap  
Characters: Gianna & Eleazar

Title: never trust a man in a fedora

I was at a cantina helping a cousin choose wedding invitations. When I escaped to the bar for an espresso, a man in a fedora offered me his card.

_Eleazar Perez. 05-779-9253_

"You've potential," he said. He stood very close; the edge of the marble bar was sharp against my shoulders. "You're excellent at cataloguing and organization, yes?"

"I am, actually." Perhaps he knew my supervisor at the museum.

"I have something of a proposition for you."

"Not interested."

He waved a hand in irritation. "A lucrative position with unique benefits."

Well, if we were talking Euros…

"Tell me more."

  


* * *

  


Prompt: Demure  
Characters: Gianna, Edward, Alice & Bella

Title: always smile at the guests

The suicidal vamp was back, along with a twitchy black-haired woman, and he glared like I was shit on his boots. I knew his type:  _Pity me for being rich and strong and immortal._  It burned in my bones when someone had everything I wanted and threw it away.

They had a skittish human with them, shy, curled in on herself. If she hoped to be turned, she'd need to harden up and pick some vamps with the balls to change her.

"Is there anything I can get you?" I asked. She just sat there and shook like a rabbit.

  


_"Is there anything I can get you?" is taken directly from_ New Moon _, chapter 22._

  


* * *

  


Prompt: Bliss  
Characters: Gianna & Corin

Title: for you

Corin moves in me with such care, and I'll still bruise.

"Does it feel good?"

"You know it does." My quick pulse and my scent reassure him.

We draw pleasure from the slow torture of his self restraint. We muffle endearments in his sheets. When he comes, his teeth graze my throat, and all I'd have to do is ask.

I stay silent and grow a little older. It's my stubborn way of proving he means more to me than life.

He pulls the covers to my chin, curves around me 'til morning and pretends he remembers how to sleep.

  


* * *

  


Prompt: photo of a tent  
Characters: Gianna, OC

Title: past my bedtime

When I was small, grandfather used to let me camp in the barn, under a quilt I'd thrown over the clothes lines.

"Look, Nonno. I've made a castle, and this is my gown." It was flannel with ducks, but it would do.

"Clever, Gianna."

I'd sip from his shot glass. When he had visitors, I'd sit on his lap and whisper which cards to play.

After I turned fourteen, he locked the barn so I'd stop taking boys there. It was the closest he ever came to telling me no, but by then I was used to getting my way.

  


* * *

  


Prompt: Under  
Characters: Gianna & Demetri

Title: ready, set, go

"This better be the best damn thing I've ever felt."

_Well… that isn't likely, is it? How many years has Demetri walked the earth?_

I part his robe with two flicks of the wrist, but then his zipper snags.

_Come on, Gianna. One chance._

His prick is absurdly pale, and it's frigid on my tongue. I want to talk to it, tell it to cooperate. I'm humming sounds that say  _Baby, I worship your cock_ and praying he'll pop like a rocket.

If I can give him 'the little death' in under three minutes, he's going to give me eternity.

  


* * *

  


Prompt: Acquiesce   
Characters: Gianna, Jane, OC

Title: missing

On the first Monday in July, Jane told me I was needed in the throne room. I was never needed anywhere except reception, so I knew what she meant. I set the keys where my replacement could find them. I didn't beg. If it would've helped, I'd have licked Aro's feet raw, but I'd seen enough people on their knees to know it accomplished nothing. Might as well lick a stone.

Grandfather wasted his savings on a depressingly formal memorial for me at the Basilica of San Giusto that November. He'd burned through 906 votives before he'd given up hope.

  


* * *

  


Prompt: photo of a Jack Daniel's bottle  
Characters: Gianna & Felix

Title: comrades

"Caius likes when people bow."

"Got it," I say. "What else?"

"Keep your eyes lowered. It'll make him think you're intimidated."

Our second movie is on the credits. I want to switch to  _Animal House_ , because Felix has never seen Belushi, but I'm too far gone to work the remote.

"Here," he says. "Hand me the bottle."

I'm trying to swig and press eject all at once. I let Felix have the remote, because I'm not giving up the hooch.

"If you were human, I'd drink you right under the table," I tell him.

He winks. "I have no doubt."

  


* * *

  


Prompt: Collapse  
Characters: Gianna & Bella

Title: no time for a concussion

On Saint Marcus Day, I took my lunch break in the Palazzo dei Priori. Perched on the fountain ledge, garlic roll in hand, I was listening to the clock chime when a tourist tumbled over me. She hit her head on the bricks with a smack.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

She mumbled something in English while men in red blazers gathered around.

"Is she with someone? Miss, what's your name?" asked one.

She looked at me and said, "bella," so she must've remembered her Italian.

A bright light shimmered from across the square, and we all turned to look.

  


_"Try not to trip," [Alice] added. "We don't have time for a concussion today." -_ New Moon _, chapter 19._

  


* * *

  


Prompt: photo of candles on a bathtub  
Characters: Gianna

Title: grievance

Someone is outside my door. My every clogged breath, every splash, every hiss of votives going out must sound loud to their senses. I sloshed half the water out of the tub, and what's left has gone cold, so I pull the plug and watch my knees surface.

Grandfather raised me. They should've let me attend his funeral, but they don't remember what it's like to be picked up and held after you fall.

"Gianna?"

It's a man's low whisper under the door, but damned if I could tell you whose. He can scent me, hear my heartbeat.

"Go away."

  


* * *

  


Prompt: photo of a plane  
Characters: Gianna & Demetri

Title: Johannesburg

Demetri appeared on the fire escape while I was standing at my closet in a bra and slip. He pushed the bedroom window open, and the lock popped off to ping against the floor.

"You found me," I said.

"Don't be an idiot."

"I'd hoped I wasn't important enough for Aro to send you."

"You're one of two humans who know of the Volturi." He stalked toward me, and I closed my eyes for the blow. "Here," he said, shoving a plane ticket in my hand. "Get dressed."

I blinked back into the world. "Aro wants me alive?"

"For now."

  


* * *

  


Prompt: Damp  
Characters: Gianna, Felix & Alec

Title: rainy day at the office

Rainy days are a joy. The guards are in a good mood; even Jane might attempt a smile in a downpour.

"Gianna, some artist is meeting with Aro. I need the keys to the wine cellar," Felix says, "and yes, before you ask, I'll bring back something nice for you."

"You spoil me."

"Why shouldn't we give you treats?" says Alec. "You're like our own trained monkey."

Alright, everyone  _except_  Alec is pleasant on rainy days; that boy's a douche in any weather.

"Don't listen to him, sweet thing," says Felix.

"Listen to whom?"

"Atta girl."

Alec rolls his eyes.

  


* * *

  


Prompt: photo of a couple sitting side by side  
Characters: Gianna & Corin

Title: the night before

"Tomorrow," Corin whispers, "while it's sunny." He slips a passport into my pocket.

"I'm not leaving you."

We're huddled on the terracotta tiles of the west terrace, and the setting sun turns his pumpkin orange hair into fire.

"Caius wants you dead," he says.

"You can't know that."

"The new guard, Edward, he knows."

"And you trust him?"

"I'm not gambling with your life."

"Demetri would come after me."

"I'll take care of Demetri." He kisses my brow. "Please, I need you safe."

"I'll never be safe while I'm human," I say, "but I'll go if you promise to follow."

  


* * *

  


Prompt: Defile  
Characters: Gianna, Aro & Jane

Title: the devil

I'd heard about Aro's gift, but, having escaped his notice for weeks, I'd almost grown complacent by the time Jane took me to meet him.

"Come here, child," he said.

The thrones were twice my height. His skin was crisp and dull as the husks of locusts, and he rustled when he moved.

"Give me your hand."

What would my life have been if I hadn't been tempted, hadn't known that I could live as long as this man?

"Now," Jane said.

I surrendered a wavering fist. His pale fingers twitched toward it like creatures too long in the dark.

  


* * *

  


Prompt: Stolen  
Characters: Gianna & Bella

Title: dungeon crawl

It's almost impossible to keep silent with an enormous ring of keys, but I manage. Down in the darkness, there's a stone room holding the woman who's about to be mine.

"It's time, Bella," I whisper.

They haven't let her have blood for days, and she trembles.

"Why would you help me escape?"

There are several reasons, not the least of which is the plush curve of her lips, but that confession will have to wait.

"Since you can hide us from Demetri, you're my ticket out of here."

She nods and doesn't breathe when she follows close behind me.

  


* * *

  


Prompt: Simple  
Characters: Gianna, Caius, Corin, Santiago

Title: yes or no

"It's a simple choice," Caius says, and I stare as though horns have sprung from his head. If they did, I wouldn't be surprised.

Corin is on his knees, and though Santiago is holding him down, he's not struggling.

"Which will it be, Gianna?"

If I say yes, I'll be changed, but Corin dies.

Or I can say no and become dinner.

"Why are you doing this?" I ask.

"I need ruthlessness. If you can betray your lover, you may be guard material. If not…" Caius shrugs.

"Say yes," Corin says. "It'll be okay."

"No. I… Wait, let me think…"

  


* * *

  


Prompt: Ripple  
Characters: Gianna & Renata

Title: the seer

At first I could only say, "More." Anything red was a siren wailing at me to drink: bricks, the sunset, every pair of eyes. Guards would toss me among humans just to watch the carnage ripple out.

Weeks passed before I thought to ask Renata why she'd turned me.

"There's a seer in the guard," she said. "Alice has some theory that you'll be useful later."

"Have I met her?"

"Aro's had her working as a spy in the Olympic Coven."

"But she knows my future?"

"Enough. You ask too many questions for someone who's been given what they wanted."

  


* * *

  


Prompt: Hollow  
Characters: Gianna

Title: eternity

To be blunt, Volterra is dull. I spend my copious spare time with Felix and Santiago, because we three are "nothings," as Jane likes to say. We can't track or shield or do anything respected among the guard.

We play poker a lot. I've been given the task of managing the cleaning staff, now that I can handle it without snacking on them.

What I can't understand is how Caius manages to sit on a throne. Isn't he a "nothing" too?

_Great._  Now Aro will read that thought the next time he tries to feel me up in the hall.

  


* * *

  


Prompt: Feign  
Characters: Gianna & Marcus

Title: let’s dance

Marcus distracted me. Sluggish and depressed weren’t exactly my kinks, but his slumped form was a challenge, and I wanted to startle the dust off of him.

He must have noticed. When he caught me alone, he claimed he’d stopped grieving for Didyme years ago.

“Aro doesn’t suspect. I won’t touch that halfwit, and I notice he doesn’t bother with you,” he said.

“I’m not important enough.”

“To me you are. I feel the strength of our relationship.”

“But we don’t have a relationship.”

He snapped me flat to his sunken chest like the start of a tango.

“We will.”

  


* * *

  


Prompt: Push  
Characters: Gianna & Edward

Title: not quite conjugal

Edward never says no, but he’s never said yes.

Maybe he leans back and lets me have him because my dungeon visits are the only contact he expects to get. Maybe it’s because I come bearing foxes’ blood. Caius allows that, if only to keep the would-be recruit from starving.

Whatever the reason, he makes the right kind of groans when I nudge his shirt higher. He tugs my robe open and holds my hips when I lift his cock and slide myself down.

_You know my mind_ , he hears me think.  _You know I’d free you if I could._

  


* * *

  


Prompt: Surface  
Characters: Gianna & Victoria

Title: we’re off

Every decade or so Victoria turned up like a bad but shiny penny. 

“A mate for a fucking mate,” she said this time. With wavy copper hair she looked like Glinda from Oz, but she bitched enough to be the evil sister. “They murdered James over a human. Will no one help me take revenge?”

Even our crickets were silent.

“I’ll come,” I said. It’d make for a change.

“What can you do?”

I could bullshit.  

“Plenty. You’ll want me around.”

She frowned, but nobody else was itching to join her.

“Get a move on then,” she said. “I'm leaving.”

  


* * *

  


Prompt: Stagger  
Characters: Gianna

Title: Secretary’s Day

I surprised everyone when I woke from the change with a talent. Eleazar had said I was organized and I had potential. He just didn’t realize how much.

I was organized all right.

I could rearrange atomic structures.

When Jane came at me, I disassociated every particle in her body, and she separated into mist.

When Caius tried to run, I increased his gravitational pull until he collapsed in on himself.

With gravity mastered I slowed time around me and erased the Volturi within moments of my waking.

Afterwards I was thirsty, and the waters of the Mediterranean became blood.

  


* * *

  


Prompt: Return  
Characters: Gianna

Title: twilight years

I live at a home in Florence now. My grandson, Benito, takes me to dinner and the theatre. He’s a good boy, nothing like me when I was young.

I’ve gone by train to Volterra a few times to remember how it used to be – the awe and the terror. 

When the Cullens killed the Volturi to free a human woman, I hated them, but what could I do? Eventually I realized it was a blessing.

I’m getting too old to go back, but I have friends; I have a clear conscience, and I have Benito. It’s more than enough.

  


* * *

  


Prompt: Elixir  
Characters: Gianna & Afton

Title: why is the blood always gone

“What do you miss most?” I asked Afton.

“Are you serious?”

“Other than blood.”

The dying sun filled the sky, and Afton and I lay brittle and parched on the last rock above the lava that used to be Earth.

“I miss Chelsea.” He took a breath. “I miss her scent. And she could find beauty anywhere. Even now, she would’ve seen it in destruction.”

I’d not thought of his mate in millennia. The last of the blood had been my one true loss.

“She would have,” I agreed.

When my hand found his, he curled his fingers around mine.

  


* * *

  


Prompt: Wander  
Characters: Gianna & Felix

Title: Ares Express

“What’s this red button?” I asked.

Felix batted at my finger until I stopped pressing.

“You’re spastic, crazy girl. Try not to make the ship explode before they can lift off.”

Our seats were right in front. Felix had been among the first to have his eyes done when they invented cosmetic color changing, and he’d probably turned his baby blues on the guy working spaceport. We had an enormous view screen.

“As if,” I said, tapping the viewer. “There’s finally someplace new to go, and I want to drink everything in.”

He grinned. “You will, sweet thing, you will.”

  


_The title,_ Ares Express,  _is taken from the novel by Ian McDonald_

  


* * *

  


Prompt: Quixotic  
Characters: Gianna & Corin

Title: anniversary

  
“It’s gorgeous.” I drop beside Corin and kiss him. “Where did you get it?”

“Does it remind you of anything?” he asks. There’s always a hidden meaning behind his gifts. He’s too clever for me, but I hope he never finds out.

The pendant spins, a radiant blue and green sphere.

“It looks like Earth.”

“It’s from Earth. It’s nephrite.”

“But Earth’s been gone forever.”

“I found it at a bazaar, and it reminded me of when we met.” He winks. “Our love outlives the planets, baby.”

“You did not just say that.”

“Oh, but I did,” he says. “C’mere.”


End file.
